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Foreclosure Investing Lifestyle

So why should you invest in foreclosures? In the long-term, its for lifestyle and financial freedom.

I do not define success in terms of winning or losing, but rather by whether I am challenging myself to be the best that I can be. One of the reasons I left my 9-5 corporate job, besides getting laid off, was because I wanted MY OWN lifestyle. I wanted to create my own lifestyle for me, my family, and my friends. I wanted to become a champion, the best at what I did. I believe that anything I set my mind to, I would be successful at that endeavor.

However, my biggest problem in working for a company where I was not the boss, the president, or the owner, was that I could not set my own schedule. I would not be able to go skiing when I wanted, play golf, or travel when I wanted. I was a terrible employee because I wanted to do things when I wanted to do them. And today I dont want to be accountable to anybody, except myself and my family, and the people that are counting on me to create real estate transactions.

Dont get me wrong. I was pleasant at my jobs, and I showed up, and I produced revenue. But the reason that I think I was a terrible employee was that I only wanted to work just 2 to 3 weeks a year. To me, a JOB means Just Over Broke and my time was not my own time, it was my boss time.

When I first started in the real estate investing business I had to ask my wife to give me a chance to make this work. I had a severance package, so I had three months to move forward. When we cashed the first check of $8,000, I took $4,000 and took my wife to Paris, a place she always dreamed of going. That helped tremendously in my pursuit of this business.

Now that I have established my business I take off one week for every six weeks of work. This gives me five to eight weeks of vacation per year depending on how my deals are going. I use this time to connect with my family, vacation, work on other projects, and just go out and enjoy life because isnt that what it's all about? If you're working so hard that you're not enjoying life then you need, in my opinion, to rethink your priorities.

My 15-yr-old son Nick and I go to hockey games, football games and other things that a 15-year-old and his dad can do together. My 6 year old daughter Chloe and I go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where we live and we do it 10-15 times a year. We go camping, take motor home trips, fly to Maui to go to the beach and much more. This is truly a life that I am designing.

My belief is we should constantly have to better ourselves, to acquire new skills, to refuse to be bogged down with the feeling of failure, inadequacy, or that L word--loser. In my opinion, the losers of the world are those that never try. I would rather work with somebody who has tried 10 different businesses and failed than somebody who has worked 30 years successfully for one company and achieved moderate success.

When are you finally a financial success? Only you can answer that question for yourself and your family but to me the answer is when you can totally financially support yourself without having to show up for work. When you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, with whomever you want, anywhere you want, anytime you want to do it, as much as you want to do it, then you have reached financial success. That is the time that passive income is really working for you and your dreams are becoming a reality.

posted by 22347 @ 11:03 PM 0 comments

League One Betting Review - 13 February 2006

Southend United replaced Colchester at the top of League One with a routine win over struggling Rotherham United on Friday night. Big hitters will have relished the 1/2 on offer for the Shrimpers and they didnt disappoint with goals from Shaun Goater and Fredy Eastwood.

Former leaders Colchester United lost ground and saw their club record run of 10 successive victories end as they were beaten at Huddersfield Town. A deflected shot from Jon Worthington after 14 minutes and a 68 minute goal for David Graham sealed victory for the 6/4 promotion chasing Terriers.

Swansea City earned their second win in a row at Nottingham Forest to keep the pressure on the automatic promotion places. The Swans recent poor form meant they were as large as 2/1 but goals from Adrian Forbes and Lee Trundle cancelled out Nathan Tysons opening goal for Forest.

Brentford moved up to fourth place by recording a fourth successive win at the expense of Bristol City. Lloyd Owusus goal 12 minutes from time earned victory at 9/5 for the Bees.

Both Southend United at 11/4 and Cochester United are 11/4 joint favourites to win League One outright. Brentford, who have games in hand over both Colchester and Swansea City are available at 7/2 while returning to form Swansea are 11/2 outsiders.

Chesterfield saw their run of 10 matches unbeaten end on Friday night against Hartlepool United who boosted their own chances of survival. Substitute Matty Robson netted the decisive goal after 65 minutes to earn a welcome 6/4 and see the Monkey Hangers climb to seventeenth in the table.

A last minute equaliser from Sean OHanlon ensured relegation strugglers Swindon Town remained unbeaten in three matches. Dean Windass looked to have granted Bradford City a 20/21 win with a goal 11 minutes from time until OHanlon nodded in at the death.

Bottom club MK Dons gave themselves a fighting chance of survival with a 3-0 win over Blackpool. Two goals from Izale McLeod and former Tangerines frontman Scott Taylor gave the 6/4 Dons a vital three points.

posted by 22347 @ 7:40 PM 0 comments

How Can the Kids Help Around the House?

When my husband was in college, a number of his fellow students were bringing their dirty laundry home, and Mom was coming once a month to clean their room. This wasn't because they were lazy, but they simply didn't know how to do the laundry or house cleaning!

Don't let your children become like those students... Apart from the fact that teaching your children house and other chores prepare them for life on their own, they're also chores that you don't need to do! I know, I know, it takes time to teach them how to do it, and there will be quite a few times when you will need to finish the job behind them, but once they know, you will never need to do it again until they leave... And, at least until they reach eight or so, they will be proud to be entrusted with "big people" tasks.

So, what tasks can be safely delegated to your children? It depends on their age, but there are things they can do as early as 2 years old. Below is a list of tasks by age group:

Toddlers: Can dust with an electromagnetic cloth or baby wipe; Spray and scrub the sink and bathtub with water and a sponge; pick up toys or other floor clutter and put them in baskets or bins - if the baskets are labeled with pictures, they can even put the right toys in the right container! At this point, anything you give them to do except putting the toys away will be more to give them something to do while you are cleaning, but they will try to do their best if you take the time to teach them, and it will seem natural to them when they graduate to more complex tasks.

Preschoolers: Sweep with kid-size broom; spray and squeegee windows using lemon- or vinegar-water (inside windows only, please!); use a handheld vacuum; wipe sinks using baby wipes; empty a small trash basket into a bigger bag; scrub corners of kitchen chairs or other small spaces using a clean toothbrush or nail brush and a cup of water; make beds (preferably with a comforter, it's easier for them); fold towels; put clothes in drawers; hang clothes on hooks; put dirty clothes in hamper; help feed animals; wipe off baseboards, windowsills with small cloth or wearing old socks on their hands; help wipe up spills; dry unbreakable dishes; pick up litter in the yard.

Kindergartners: sweep small areas with a dustpan and broom; clean bathroom sinks; hang up the towel after a bath; store bath toys; help in the kitchen (stirring, tearing lettuce, etc. - no knife yet!); set the napkins and silverware on the table; clear dishes from the table (depends on your child, you know if they risk breaking them or not); help load the dishwasher; straighten plastic dishes in a cabinet; help straighten pots and pans; sort family members' clean laundry; dust furniture; strip linens from beds; straighten books on a bookshelf; put game and puzzle pieces in correct storage containers; use a lint remover to pick up pet hair on furniture; tidy up their room.

Younger Elementary School Kids: Make beds (any of them); take out garbage; sweep stairs and walks; clean the car and help wash it; vacuum their own room; sort and straighten toys; fold and put away laundry; empty the dishwasher; feed and care for pets; set and clean the table (but only with unbreakable dishes and cups at this point); sort clothes for washing.

Older Elementary School Kids: Clean bathroom mirrors; vacuum; clean toilets; clean countertops and the kitchen sink; mop small-area floors; use the washer and dryer; wash, dry and put away dishes; clean pet areas; clean cobwebs and dust in high places with a pole; sweep the garage; set and clean the table (by the end of elementary school, they usually are able to do it with regular dishes and glasses).

Teenagers: Can do everything you do, except for the most intensive jobs, or the ones using noxious products, such as deep-cleaning of the oven, or removing mold from the bathroom tiles.

So, when will you sit down and create a chore chart for your children? What chores will you assign to each, depending on their ages? What will you do with the time you are saving this way?

posted by 22347 @ 4:17 PM 0 comments

http://rpc.pingomatic.com/

posted by 22347 @ 1:34 PM 0 comments

How to Get Prospects to Return Your Call

How effective are the messages that YOU leave for your prospects? Your prospects form an opinion about you and your company every time you contact them. In fact, the messages you leave on their voicemail or e-mail may be a determining factor in their decision to call you back and consider doing business with you. So make a good impression!

The Voicemail Message

Recently, I had the experience of shopping for a car. Unfortunately, I didnt have the pleasure of buying one. Although I knew the exact car I wanted and was ready to buy, not one car salesperson was willing to give me any personal attention.

To begin, I followed a get a quote tool that was available online and filled in exactly what I wanted in my next car: the type, the color, the features, and even additional comments. I couldnt have made it much easier for a car salesperson to sell me a car that I already knew I wanted.

With the five requests that I sent online to different car dealerships in my area, I received five phone calls within 12 hours of my request. All of them went directly to my voicemail.

Here is the basic script to four of the messages I received:

Hello, this is (insert name of salesperson) calling from (insert name of car dealership). Please call me back at (insert telephone number that I have yet to call).

BOOORING! And talk about impersonal! Did they even read my request? Do they even know what kind of car I am interested in?

When a prospect goes out of their way to contact you in regards to a sale, the last thing you want to do is leave them an impersonal or automated message!

Whats the purpose of a voicemail message?

There is only one objective to leaving a voicemail: get them to call you back. Be creative! Use humor! Show them you are different from the competition!

Distinguishing yourself from others DOES NOT mean telling your prospects how great and wonderful you and your company are. DONT tell them that your company is the biggest, the best, that it always puts the customer first, has a 99.6 percent customer satisfaction rate, was the first to do something, or how long youve been in business and how many awards your company has won. In fact, dont tell them ANYTHING remotely similar to anything on that list!

True Story: While attending college at Bowling Green State University I made a significant observation: all seven pizza companies in town printed voted #1 pizza in town right on their pizza box. Why? The same reason you tell your customers how great you arebecause you think people actually care.

How do you differentiate yourself from the competition?

Your prospects know what they like and what they want. They dont want to dance around with you or play games. They want to be treated like an important customer and not like the next sale towards quota.

So try leaving a message that is actually to the point. Try to sound like a human being and not a salesperson. Leave a message of value, where you tell your prospect something they might actually want to know. This will entice them to return your call. (Want more examples? Send a blank e-mail to voicemail@tomrichard.com)

The e-mail message

After sending in my online quote requests for a car, I also received an automated e-mail. I know that youve probably received one sometime in your life, too. Theyre easy to spot as soon as you open the message: a letter full of misspellings, asterisks and exclamation points; sent from a nameless person promising to give you an incredible deal on a sale.

These types of e-mails almost always end up in the trash folder. Why? Because theyre garbage, and you know it! So, why are you using this garbage to reach your prospects?

Voicemails and e-mails should always be sent personally from a real human being, with the intention of creating a relationship with your prospect. Get to know your prospect so you will understand them and discover their motivation for their interest. When you know why they are interested, you will find out how they will make the decision of whether or nor to buy from you.

Be persistent!

Although all five dealerships reached out to me within the first 24 hours of my inquiry, not one person has followed up with me since then (with the exception of automated e-mail blasts, like I mentioned).

A clear and simple way to separate yourself from the competition is to be pleasantly persistent with your follow-up. You are NOT creating a favorable impression with a prospect if you cant take the time to contact them on a personal level after your first attempt.

When I sent out my initial online inquiries, I was ready to buy a car. I took the first step to contact five different car dealerships in my area. However, the impersonal and ineffective follow-ups of these dealerships have reminded me of why I dont like purchasing a car, and now I am considering keeping my old one.

I didnt make the sales process difficult, the follow-up system of the car dealerships did!

So consider this: is your follow-up system killing your chance of making sales? Do you send messages to your prospects? Are they personal? Are they effective? Remember, the point of the follow-up is to establish a relationship that will eventually lead to a sale. So be personal, be persistent, and be happy youre changing a prospect into a customer!

posted by 22347 @ 12:58 AM 0 comments